Assist loop



y 13, A. CLAUD-MANTLE 2,241,504

ASSIST LOOP Filed June 14, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 13, 1941. A. CLAUD-MANTLE 2,241,504

ASSIST LOOP Filed June 14, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patentecl May 13, 1941 UNITE. TT '1? S ATENT FFIQE AS SEST LOOP Application lunel i, 1939, Serial No. 278,996

16 Claims.

This invention relates to assist loops such as used in motor cars.

customarily, such an article comprises a loop proper made from textile web or strap material and an attaching member or fixture by which it is mounted on the wall of the car body. Such textile webs or straps have in the past required an appreciable amount of finishing or tailoring as it is called, especially in connection. with the free end or tab of the web which has commonly been present in these articles.

One of the objects of my invention is to overcome the need of so much finishing or tailoring and provide a simpler, less expensive article.

Another purpose which I have in view is to decrease to a noticeable extent the amount of labor and inconvenience attendant upon the assembly of thearticle upon the car body wall by providing an assist loop structure capable of much easier manipulation in assemblage and disassemblage than has been possible heretofore.

Another object is to provide as a unit for convenient assemblage in the car an assist member comprising a looped strap or web having its ends permanently interconnected, and carrying with it as a part of the unit an attaching member which is movable relatively to the loop element but incapable of complete detachment or loss.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the novel featuresand combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a face View showing an assist loop of my invention attached to a car body wall, only a small portion of said wall being shown;

Fig. 2 is a side View of the parts shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a considerably enlarged section on line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the assist loop unit showing it as it appears before attachment to its support;

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are respectively front, rear and top views of the metal attaching member;

Figs. 8 and 9 are elevational views with parts broken away showing certain steps in the process of assemblage of the article to or disassemblage thereof from the supporting wall;

Fig. 10 shows an attaching member of some what modified form, and

Fig. 11 is a sectional view of the attaching member of Fig. 10 further illustrating its method of use.

In the past it has been common practice to form the assist member or loop of strap or web material with a front flap and aback flap fastened together near the top and there attached to the car body wa1l,there being a forward and downward extension from the rear flap in the form of'a free end or tab which isheld in place by a medallion loop or keeper supported from but forming a part of the attaching fixture. In the preferred form of my invention this type of assist loop proper is altogether discardedbecause of the drawbacks pointed out above, andI provide as a substitute and as a considerable improvement-an article in the form of a permitnently assembled unit, one member of which is constituted by a strap or web in loop form hav- 1 ing its extremities permanently interconnected,

the other member of which is constituted by an attaching fixture movably but mounted on the loop proper so as to be incapable of displacement or losstherefrom.

In the-drawingsthe unit referred to is shown at 15, the'loop part thereof being indicated at IS, and the attaching member being indicated at I! and said attaching member being attached or fastened by a fastening member such as a screw 18, to the wall N3 of the car body. -The-loop proper It is made from textile web or strap material of the kind usual in such articles, and may have the usual edge binding and other features of construction which Ihave not considered it necessary to illustrate. The loop is formed by cutting off a suitable length of material, looping it, slightly overlapping itat the extremities l6 and [6 (Fig. 4), and interconnecting the overlapped ends by stitchingthem together and passing therethrough a grommet 20 of a size such as to fit the body of the attaching screw 68 previously mentioned.

The construction of the attaching member I7 is shown in detail in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, and it will be observed that this member is of such a character that it can, if desired, be formed from a single piece of sheet metal properly bent and shaped for the purposes in View. This member, in the example shown, has a plate or body portion .2] at the upper part and a medallion loop or keeper '22 at the lower part, and side walls 23 terminating at the rear in inwardly turned retaining flanges or lips 24. The part 2! is cupped or displaced somewhat in a rearward direction with respect to the loop or keeper portion 22 and both of these portions are connected integrally with the side walls 23, the result being that there is provided at the front of the member a closed passageway 25 for accommodating the assist strap, and at the rear of the member a passagepermanentlyway 26 adapted to accommodate another portion of the strap, the last named passageway, however, being open at the rear between the opposing edges of the flanges 24. The plate portion 2| is provided at its middle with a notch 21 cut into it from the lower edge, the size of this notch being such as to accommodate the body of screw l8. The loop or keeper portion 22 is preferably bowed downwardly so that its middle portion is lower than those portions which are attached to the walls 23, and the part 22 is preferably rounded at the edges to make it stronger; and I prefer to form integrally with this part 22 at the lower portion thereof an upwardly and outwardly projectinghook 28 which is arched in cross-section and is adapted to serve as a garment hook. As shown more particularly in Fig. 6, the side walls 23 with their flanges 24 extend across a space 29 separating the lower edge of portion 2 lffrom the upper edge of portion 22, and it will be noted that the hook 28 extends upwardly in a location opposite this space.

The member I1 is permanently retained on the flexible textile loop and this end is preferably achieved by the construction herein shown in which the front portion |6 of the flexible loop passes through the passageway 25. The rear portion Hi of the flexible loop is also, for all practical purposes, permanently retained in the passageway 26. In the particular instance shown, loop point It is, as a matter of fact, by a certain manipulation thereof withdrawable laterally from passageway 26, but that is not a matter of any particular significance. In other words, the passageway 26 in this particular form of the device is not closed in at the rear but this is not necessarily true in all cases.

It will be observed that in the assembled position of the parts the flexible loop I6 is flattened at the upper part and the attaching member H is located closely adjacent the upper end of the loop with the rear member of the loop in the rear passageway and the front member of the loop in the front passageway of the attaching member. The notch 21 fits around the body of the screw l8, said screw having a nicked head 30 abutting against the outer face of portion 2| and. the grommet 20 being disposed about the body of the screw. At its rear portion the grommet rests against a washer 3| surrounding the shank l8 of the screw, this washer 3| being placed against the lining or upholstery 32 on the wall l9. The screw l8 has a portion of its shank threaded as shown at 33 so as to engage a threaded part 34 welded or otherwise suitably affixed to the wall IS in order to provide a satisfactory socket for the screw.

When the parts are in the assembled position, as shown in Fig. 3, the hook 28 projects upwardly and outwardly and has its upper end or tip spaced forwardly of the flexible loop, and as this hook is supported from beneath the attaching screw it is not likely to be swung out of its proper place under the weight of the garment or other object supported thereon.

The method of assembling the parts of the portable unit, shown in Fig. 4, has already been indicated. In assembling this unit with the supporting wall the procedure is usually as follows: The member I1 is slid upwardly on the loop with the overlapped portion Hi It of the loop in a lower location, and the loop is opened up at the lower part and screw I8 passed through the grommet to fasten the loop against the supporting wall. The screw |8 is screwed in to cause its body portion to engage washer 3| and clamp it firmly in place against the supporting wall. The body of the screw is of such length as to leave a space for the part 2| as well as the grommet 26. Member I1 is then slid downwardly on the inner part of the flexible loop, making use of the guide or passageway 26. The member H is pulled down until the notch 21 in part 2| is fully engaged with the body of the screw in front of the grommet. At this stage, the parts have the relative positions shown in Fig. 8, a portion N3 of the flexible loop extending upwardly to a substantial distance above member H. The next step is to pull downwardly the front member of the flexible loop, making use of the guide or passageway 25, and when this part has been pulled down as far as possible the assemblage will be complete, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

Fig. 9 shows one position which member I! may take at the time when the fastening screw is passed through the grommet, in the process of assembly to the car wall.

A rather expensive operation in connection with the manufacture of assist loops is the tailoring or finishing of the usual projecting end or tab of the flexible loop. Ordinarily the free end of the loop has to be shaped on a curve and then bound by sewing on a suitable edge binding in this location, and this is expensive. By my invention, the necessity of these operations is avoided and the expense of the article noticeably lowered, and yet the article is very sightly and there is no loss of strength. The connection between the member i7 and. the attaching screw or other fastener is very strong and satisfactory, and the flexible assist loop element is curved over the top of member I! so as to be strongly supported therefrom. In the assembled position, a portion of the at taching member is disposed within the upper curved end of the loop to thereby support the loop. The attaching member acts as a finishing or trim member associated with the fastening screw having a medallion loop embracing the outer flap of the looped strap.

It is desirable to have the loop capable of being readily disassembled as well as readily assembled, and this is an advantage of my improved construction. The assist loop will not be displaceable in any ordinary use, and the fact that the loop is removable from its supporting wall will not be apparent to the ordinary observer because of the concealment of the fastening means, but disassemblage can be readily performed by those familiar with such articles. In the operation of disassemblage the first step is to push upwardly the outer upper part of the flexible loop into the position shown in Fig. 8. The rear part of the loop then being held against the supporting wall, the member I! can be slid upwardly thereon to disengage it from the fastening screw and detach the loop.

It will be understand that when the strap or web hasbeen cut to length for the formation of the loop, the interconnection of the ends to form a permanent loop or endless band is an easy and inexpensive matter. I prefer to do this by overlapping the ends and fastening them together by the grommet, as described, but other procedures can be adopted. It will also be apparent that it is advantageous to have the operations of forming the loop with its movable mounting or attaching member carried thereon at some distance from and it is'of obvious advantage to have the assem bly of the article to the car simplified to the extent which is possible by my improvement.

It will be apparent that in the use of the device the pull on the loop will be effectively transmitted to the attaching screw irrespective of whether such pull is placed mainly on the front member of the flexible loop or mainly on the rear member. The plate portion 2| acts as a load-sustaining member in taking the pull on the upper part of the loop, and this member, by engagement with the fastener screw, which acts as a pivot member, provides a pivotal mounting for the retainer, enabling it to swing parallel to the supporting wall. The retainer in connection with the pivot member provides for the swinging movement of the side portions of the assist loop in the respective planes in which their strap material is disposed. -Both the assist loop member and the retainer are arranged to swing on the body of the fastener screw, and the assist member can be swung either forwardly or rearwardly from the normal pendant position.

In Figs. and 11 I have shown a modified form of my attaching member in which the notch 27, previously mentioned, is replaced by a round hole 2'. By this construction, the attaching member is adapted for use in connection with an assist loop of conventional form. Such a loop has a rear flap 35, a front flap 36 and a free end or tab 31. In this case, a pivot screw 38 for attaching the device to a wall 39 passes through the hole 27 and through registering holes in the upper ends of the flaps or portions and 36. The free end 31 of the rear flap is then folded over and inserted into the space between portion Zi and portion 22 The flaps 35 and 33 and the plate portion 2 l can be grommeted together by a grommet 40, through which screw 38 passes. In this case, as before, the screwserves as a pivotal mounting for the assist member and the retainer carried therewith, and the strap-retaining member is connected to the loop at its upper portion and to the pivot member to provide for the swinging movement of the side portions of the assist loop in the respective planes in which their strap material is disposed. However, I consider the form first described as greatly to be preferred over than shown in Figs. 10 and While I have shown and described two forms which my invention may take, it is to be understood that it is capable of many different embodiments and that various modifications and detail changes may be made without departing from the principles of the invention or the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an assist loop assembly, a strap having its extremities interconnected to form a permanently closed loop, a trim member having passageways by which it is slidably mounted on both the front and rear portions of the loop, and means for fastening said member to a support.

2. In an assist loop assembly, a flexible continuous member in the form of a portable loop, an attaching member for opposite loop portions permanently mounted on said loop, and means for fastening said member to a supporting wall, said member formed as a slide having a passageway for the front part of the loop and another passageway for the rear part of the loop.

3. In an assist loop assembly, an endless strap in the form of an elongated portable loop, a supporting wall therefor, a fastener passing through one side only of the loop into said wall, and a trim member mounted so as to be slidable along the loop and supported from said fastener, said member having one passage therethrough by means of which it is permanently mounted on the strap and another passage which is opensided so that a portion of the loop can be inserted and removed in a lateral direction.

4. In an assist loop assembly, an endless strap in the form of an elongated portable loop, a supporting wall therefor, a fastener passing through one side only of the loop into said wall, and a trim member mounted so as to be slidable along the loop and supported from said fastener, said member having a front passageway for the front part of the loop and a rear passageway for the rear part of the loop, and said member having a notched. portion therein by means of which it is engageable and disengageable with said fastener.

5. -In-an assist loop assembly, a flexible strap in the form of an endless loop having a grommet in one side thereof, a supporting wall, a screw passing through the grommet into the supporting wall, and a load-sustaining member for taking pull on the upper part of the loop permanently but movably mounted on the loop and cooperating with said screw.

6. In an assist cord of the swinging type, a flexible strap having its extremities overlapped and interconnected to form an endless portable loop, a grommet passing through the overlapped portions of the strap, a headed fastener adapted to pass through the grommet into a supporting wall with the head of the fastener disposed at the inside of the loop formed by the strap, and a trim member in slidable but permanently mounted relation with respect to the loop and having provisions whereby it is engaged and supported from the head portion of said fastener so that the strap is swingable in the plane of the strap material.

7. 'An assist loop fixture comprising a plate having a body with a depending front loop between which and the body a strap'portion can be confined, said body having rearwardly extending walls with inturned flanges and being open at the back, said depending loop having an upwardly projecting hook, and said body having a notch open from below whereby the body is adapted to be set over an attaching screw.

8. An assist loop fixture, comprising a sheet metal plate, bent up to provide a body with a depending arch-shaped loop or clip portion at the lower part thereof, adapted to confine an underlying strap portion, said loop or clip portion being integrally joined to the body and the latter having rearwardly extending walls at the upper part, said walls being formed with inturned flanges having opposing inner edges facing and spaced from each other to provide a rear opening for the lateral insertion and removal of a strap portion. V

9. In an assist cord of the swinging type, the combination of an assist member in the form of a loop of strap material havin approximately parallel side portions facing each other, a pivot member, and a strap retaining member connected to the loop at its upper portion and to the pivot member and providing in connection with the pivot member for the swinging movement of the side portions of the loop in the respective planes in which their strap material is disposed.

10. In an assist cord of the swinging type, the combination of an assist member in the form of a loop of strap material having approximately parallel side portions facing each other, a pivot member serving as a pivotal mounting for said assist member adjacent the upper end thereof, and providing for the swinging movement of the side portions of the member in the respective planes in which their strap material is disposed, and a strap retaining member connected to the loop and to the pivot member, said loop of strap material comprising a member having its ends connected one to the other independently of said pivot member, to provide a loop which is permanently closed.

11. In an assist cord of the swinging type, a length of strap material having its extremities connected one with the other to provide a permanent endless loop, said loop having a perforation in one of its side portions, a fastener passing through said perforation into a supporting wall, and a trim and mounting member supported by said fastener and having a retainer extending over one side of the loop and by which it is permanently held on the loop, said member having pivotal relation to the wall provided by said fastener so that the side portions of the loop can swing in the planes of their strap material.

12. In an assist cord of the swinging type, a

flexible strap in the form of an endless portable loop, having a perforation in one side thereof, a fastener passing through said perforation into a supporting wall, a load sustaining member for taking the pull on the upper part of the loop,

pivotally supported by said fastener toswing in a plane parallel to the supporting wall, and a trim element connecting said load-sustaining member to one side portion of the loop.

13. In an assist cord, a metal keeper member having a passage therethrough closed in on all sides, a strap having its body passing freely through said passageway so that said member is slidable on the strap, means connecting one end of said strap to the other end thereof so that said strap has the form of an endless loop on which said member is permanently held, said strap having a perforation passing through one side of the loop, a fastener passing through said perforation into a supporting wall, and means on said keeper member whereby it is secured to the Wall by said fastener independently of the means interconnecting the strap ends.

1 1. In an assist cord, a metal keeper member having a through passageway enclosed on all sides, a strap member having a portion passing through said passageway and provided with ends overlapped for interconnection, a grommet interconnecting said ends, a pivot member passing through the grommet into a supporting wall for mounting the strap on the wall for swinging movement parallel to the wall, and a load-sustaining member for taking the pull on the upper part of the loop connected to the strap and swinging therewith, said pivot member being detachable from the wall to release said loop, and said load-sustaining member being connected to said keeper member.

15. In an assist loop assembly, a flexible looped strap having a grommet extending through at least one of its side portions, a supporting wall, a screw passing through the grommet into the supporting wall for pivotally connecting the loop member with the wall, and a load-sustaining member for taking the pull on the upper part of the loop permanently mounted on the loop and having pivotal engagement with said screw.

16. In an assist cord of the swinging type, the combination of an assist member in the form of a loop of strap material having approximately parallel side portions facing each other, a pivot member, and a strap-retaining member connected to the loop at its upper portion and to the pivot member and providing in connection with the pivot member for the swinging movement of the side portions'of the loop in the respective planes in which their strap material is disposed, both side portions of the loop engag ing the pivot member, and the loop having a free end or tab retained by said retaining member. ARTHUR CLAUD-MANTLE. 

